Roller bearings for providing relative rotary and linear motion between two mutually opposing are well known. Such devices include roller bearings, 4-way bearings, tapered roller bearings, cross roller bearings etc. The load carrying characteristics of these devices are well known and present certain limitations. By way of example, the tapered bearings are more difficult to preload but are superior in their axial load bearing capabilities than thrust rollers. 4-way ball bearings have less load bearing capabilities than thrust rollers. Cross roller bearings are comparable in axial load carrying capabilities but are inferior in radial and tilt loads to the thrust roller. Thus, there always exist a need for improvement in these devices and in particular in the load bearing capabilities of these devices.
The present invention significantly improves the bearing system performance without a significant increase in cost. The present invention can provide a thrust capability as well as a tilt and radial force capability. The thrust capability of the present invention is much stronger than ball bearings, competitive with crossed roller bearings and simpler and cheaper than tapered bearings. The advantages of the present invention create an attractive alternative to the traditional bearing systems. traditional load bearing systems can even be retrofitted to include the features and advantages of the present invention.